By Dorothy Brotherton

THE IDEA of an extreme makeover seems to have touched an Okanagan nerve. Two Westside churches are hosting sessions to kick off 2008 geared to appeal to people who are looking for positive change, although neither church knew about the other’s plans.

This is not an extreme makeover that demolishes your house and rebuilds it to look like something from a magazine’s pages, nor an extreme makeover involving radical plastic surgery-- nothing like the two popular television shows.

It’s billed as a makeover that takes on your entire person and transforms it in tiny steps.

That is possible to do, according to Dr. Michael Banman of Rhino Chiropractic, who is leading the six-week workshop called the International Extreme Makeover Challenge, at Westgate Church.

Dr. Brian Bittle is leading the same workshop at Emmanuel Assembly. Both churches are located in the new municipality of Westside, near Kelowna. Bittle comes from Lifestyle Chiropractic in Kelowna, and has coached hundreds of people to restored health and renewed life. He follows a step by step approach.

Pastor Derek Koch of Emmanuel Assembly does not think it is strange for a church to sponsor this kind of workshop. He said, “The Bible is a book that talks about our spirits, but also has a lot to say about how we live physically, mentally and emotionally. Churches are doing better at addressing this than they used to.”

The program is also endorsed by John Maxwell of the Global Pastors Network.

It is based on the book, Body By God: Extreme Makeover God’s Way. The book by Dr. Ben Lerner has become a New York Times bestseller.

Lerner was one of the physicians for U.S. wrestling teams in six World Team competitions and two Olympiads.

His rules of success include: Discover and develop your gifts; possess a superior plan; follow the plan; and be inspired to win. Lerner has also published Body By God: Owner’s Manual for Maximized Living.

Lerner, 39, is a chiropractor based in Florida, and he has enlisted a team of chiropractors across North America to promote his approach to health. Banman and Bittle are among them.

Banman led the first International Extreme Makeover Challenge sessions in Western Canada last year at his Kelowna office. He liked the results.

“You see such dramatic change in people’s lives. When people get healthy their lives change. If you are not healthy, every area of your life suffers,” said Banman.

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He noted the concept can be described as “maximized living,” and is based on five principles: that we should develop a healthy nervous system; a nutritious diet; proper exercise patterns; stress management techniques; and time management skills.

“That sums it up. We want people to be the best they can be for God. We can be robbed of his purposes for us if our health is under par,” Banman added.

Look at a roomful of people, and realize that five of every six people in the room will die of heart disease or cancer, both of which are he says are largely preventable if we “steward our bodies.”

The program suggests these questions will help you know if the sessions are for you: Are you looking for positive change? Could you stand to lose a few pounds, shed some stress, boost your energy, increase your time for the people and things important to you?

Instead of trying (and failing) to cut bad things out, the program stresses adding good things in small increments. That’s based on the idea that good habits are just as easy to make as bad ones, and either can be done in three to five weeks.

For example, instead of setting a goal to lose 10 pounds, you focus on adding good things to your life, “getting one percent better every day.” Then, Banman claims, pounds melt away.

Workshops in the 40-day challenge are:

• Fuel your body effectively. “Eat like an elephant and look like a gazelle.”
• Move your body. “Discover fat burning zones. Build stronger muscles in as little as three minutes a day.”
• Healthy body/healthy spine. “Learn to optimize your health with a healthy nervous system.”
• Stress management. “Create and manage peace in your life and reprogram stress reactions.”
•Time management. “Double or triple the amount of time you have in a week.”
• Life by God – a 40-day plan. “Get 40 percent better for God in 40 days.”

The Westgate Church is holding the challenge on Wednesdays, January 9 through February 16, 7 pm. Call 250-762-5696.

Emmanuel Assembly will hold the sessions on Sundays, January 20 through February 24, 6 pm. Call 250-768-7638.

Cost is $40, and includes a copy of the book, a T-shirt and the Extreme Makeover Mobile Mentoring daily audios.

February 2008